As lawmakers look to cover the state’s $1.2 billion budget shortfall, support and services for children with developmental delays or disabilities are among the first to lose funding, with similar cuts on the table for education.
Colorado’s Early Intervention program supports children from birth through age 3 who have developmental needs. On Tuesday, a memo stated the program’s funding will be cut as part of “temporary cost containment measures” induced by the shortfall.
Effective Mar. 3, services will be limited to four hours per month and non-Medicaid services will lose state funding, reductions some say will severely affect higher-need families.
Gov. Polis’ most recent budget proposal would also cut funding to K-12 schools, which experts argue would disproportionately affect smaller, rural districts with already-tightened budgets.
